Shaku Maku in Rathmines received a number of bad reviews on Google after an art display by Emmalene Blake was painted on the side of their building.
Owner Adnan Shabab said both he and his wife have worked really hard to provide the best service for customers, despite finding it “really hard being Palestinian at the moment”.
“It started with this mural by Emmalene Blake, she did a big piece on the side of our restaurant to highlight those being killed. Over 4,000 Palestinians have died, it’s terrible, there’s a lot of suffering,” Adnan said.
“With the Google Reviews, I was really shocked. When the mural was finished, the second day, we were bombarded with bad reviews. What have we done to get these negative reviews? We’ve just been creating awareness and showing solidarity.
“This is a small family run restaurant. Myself and my wife work hard, we’re trying to remain positive, provide good service and we’ve always had good reviews since we started nearly two years ago. We had a very good rating, 4.7 since we started because we care.
“Our customers found out about this, got behind us and gave us good reviews. Our customers and our neighbours know what we do, they know that we do our best.
“The bad reviews, they weren’t constructive criticism. We don’t mind it if it was coming from a genuine customer, we’d try to improve our services. But this was deliberate, what kind of mindset is that?
Adnan Shabab (far right), owner of Shaku Maku in Rathmines, with his family
“Ireland has become my home as well, the vast majority have been of great support and have shown solidarity with us, that’s what counts. It’s not about ratings, it’s about the public support and our customer support.
“We’re trying to stay positive, being Palestinian is hard at the moment. It’s a nightmare watching the news,” he added.
Mr Shabab still has family in Palestine and he is hoping for a ceasefire for his country.
“My extended family is in Palestine, my cousins. All their houses have been flattened, they’ve had to move. My sister now lives in a school with 3,000 to 4,000 people. They’ve little water and food, and some people are dying of hunger,” he said.
“Shaku Maku came from my mother and grandmother’s recipes from Palestine, the family recipes go back years and years. I got inspiration from them, they’re very simple but very tasty.
“In Palestine, we’ve a very strong culture when it comes to food and to music. Ireland has a very deep culture too; we have a lot of similarities in that sense.
“People are crying for a ceasefire. It’s what’s needed. Seeing bodies around the hospital, nobody can even take them and bury them with dignity, I’ve seen stray dogs eating these bodies in front of the cameras, this is in 2023. Shame on the World, to stand-by and let these atrocities continue,” he added.